‘We are standing for the powers that ought to be’: James Talarico, downballot Democrats rally voters, encourage turnout as election nears – The Battalion
U.S. Senate Democratic candidate James Talarico during his “Clear Eyes Full Hearts” campaign rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Steve Carrasco IV/The Battalion)
Aggies gather in Aggie Park during James Talarico’s “Clear Eyes Full Hearts” rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Steve Carrasco IV/The Battalion)
Bryan Mayor Pro Tem and Bryan City Councilman James Edge takes a photo of the crowd as he speaks during James Talarico’s “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Yuki Soda/The Battalion)
Democratic Texas agriculture commissioner nominee Clayton Tucker waves his cowboy hat during James Talarico’s “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Yuki Soda/The Battalion)
A rally attendee holds up signs supporting Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico and agriculture commissioner nominee Clayton Tucker during Talarico’s “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Yuki Soda/The Battalion)
James Talarico campaign buttons during James Talarico’s “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts” rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Steve Carrasco IV/The Battalion)
Talarico campaign event coordinator Cecy Jimenez during James Talarico’s “Clear Eyes Full Hearts” rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Steve Carrasco IV/The Battalion)
Texas House District 14 candidate Janet Dudding smiles for the crowd during James Talarico’s “Clear Eyes Full Hearts” rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Steve Carrasco IV/The Battalion)
U.S. Senate Democratic candidate James Talarico gestures during his “Clear Eyes Full Hearts” campaign rally at Aggie Park on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Steve Carrasco IV/The Battalion)
When Democratic nominee for United States Senate James Talarico took the stage at Aggie Park in his first rally on Texas A&M’s campus since February, he had a key message for attendees: “We are the underdogs in this race.”
As a part of his “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Tour,” Talarico made a stop in Aggieland on Friday, Oct. 30, drawing in a crowd of hundreds despite less-than-ideal weather conditions. His tour name derives from the infamous show “Friday Night Lights.”
In the show, which follows the journey of the Dillon Panthers’ football team to the state championship, Coach Eric Taylor delivers a speech to the Panthers. Down at halftime, Taylor tells the team that everyone will lose a battle at some point in their life, but that what makes him a man is that he doesn’t lose himself in the midst of the battle.
“The Panthers won that game by one point,” Talarico told the crowd. “They won despite being the underdogs. They won despite everyone telling them it was impossible. They risked it all. They left it all on the field. They won with clear eyes and full hearts.”
Talarico urged that as election day nears, that voters, too, should leave it all on the field, as he attempts to become the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas in over three decades, even as he leads in the race by two points in a recent Emerson College poll.
“We are literally going up against the richest man in the world,” Talarico said in reference to Elon Musk, a billionaire who has heavily invested in Texas politics, including financially supporting and endorsing Talarico’s opponent, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “This election is a battle between the powers that be and the powers that ought to be. The powers that be have chosen their candidate. They have bought and paid for Ken Paxton, but we are standing for the powers that ought to be.”
‘Texas is not for sale’
Talarico told the crowd that over the course of Paxton’s tenure as the state’s attorney general, he has increased his own net worth by $27 million. An investigation by the Texas Tribune and ProPublica found discrepancies with Paxton’s reported income, although an exact increase in net worth was not confirmed.
He also made a point to emphasize how much of Paxton’s campaign is being funded by Musk, who has donated more than $445 million to various political action committees, or PACs, in this midterm cycle.
Musk, who has planned to build his new “Terafab” facility in neighboring Grimes County that would be the largest building in the world, has poured more than $190 million into the senate race in support of Paxton, according to reporting from the Texas Tribune based on filings made to the Federal Elections Commission.
“Our movement is funded by 1.6 million individuals who have donated their hard-earned money to this campaign; Ken Paxton is funded by one dude,” Talarico said. “Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants our tax dollars. He wants his very own personal United States senator. He is trying to buy Texas. But on Nov. 3, we are gonna deliver a crystal-clear message to the world’s first trillionaire: Texas is not for sale.”
Throughout his tenure in the Texas House and now through his campaign for senator, Talarico has publicly claimed that he has not accepted corporate PAC money.
At the rally, he stated that he “never will,” despite Paxton’s acceptance of donations from groups tied to Musk and other billionaire donors — including West Texas oil magnates Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, whom Talarico called out by name.
Talarico told attendees that he wants to be “a senator for every Texan who can’t afford one,” which he will aim to do with the support of who he calls his “team.”
“The nurses; the farmers; and the raptures,” Talarico said. “The grandmother who is facing eviction; the little boy who’s waking up in the middle of the night from the lights of the data center; the small business owner who is trying to keep his family restaurant open. Those Texans are my team. They are why I’m in this race.”
James Talarico takes the stage here at Texas A&M’s Aggie Park to plenty of applause. https://t.co/ngxVBxrnmB
— Ian Curtis (@Texiancurtis) October 31, 2026
While Talarico said that he is running to support Texans, he also extended that support to downballot candidates who spoke at his rally including Democratic nominees for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Texas’ 10th Congressional District, Texas State Senate District 5, Texas State House District 14 and Brazos County Commissioners Court Precinct 4.
Also taking the stage was political science junior and President of Texas Aggie Democrats Brooks Brigmon, who stressed the importance of voting down the ballot.
“If you’re like me, you’re here because you’re dissatisfied with that state of the country and the politics, a division that tears us apart and gets nothing done,” Brigmon said. “ … I’m here to tell you that we have a whole incredible sling of Democratic candidates here tonight who are ready to work and make that change. And if we truly seek progress in this country, we’ve got to vote down the ballot and elect every single one of them this November.”
While she was not one of the candidates who spoke during the rally, state senator and Democratic nominee for Texas Comptroller Sarah Eckhardt said that the enthusiasm for Talarico extends down the ballot, including both statewide races like her own and local offices.
“We’re seeing a wave,” Eckhardt told The Battalion before the event. “We’re seeing an incredible level of enthusiasm that’s infectious. And frankly, it’s not about just one candidate. We’re seeing a political realignment. It’s not about party. It’s about having a state government that actually represents all Texans instead of just the wealthy donor class.”
Impressive turnout here at Texas A&M’s Aggie Park for James Talarico, who’s set to speak in a few minutes. https://t.co/obJ5LbK1WQ
— Ian Curtis (@Texiancurtis) October 30, 2026
‘We need him in Washington’
The rally at Aggie Park drew a large crowd of both A&M students and local citizens, many of whom raised their hands when asked by a speaker during the rally if they would be first-time voters.
“I really love Talarico as a candidate and as a person, and his views align really well with mine,” visualization junior David Hudson said. “And I’m just sick and tired of the current government. And I definitely will not support someone like Ken Paxton, just with his criminal history and how he has used his office for corruption.”
Political influencer Jared Shult ‘25 said the opportunity to see Talarico speak on campus was worth the trip back to his alma mater.
“I think myself and also the amount of people that showed up here tonight is just evidence of the fact that A&M is not a one party-ruled university, and a lot of students have differing political views,” Shult said. “And I think it’s good that we have the ability to have candidates come here, and it shows how important Texas A&M is that candidates will come here to try to campaign to our students.”
Eckhardt said she, too, was encouraged by the attendance at the event.
“The more voters we have, the more democracy we have,” Eckhardt said. “So when we see this kind of turnout, that is when you know that democracy is alive and well, and we are going to get representation that actually reflects the true needs and desires of the people of Texas.”
Talarico’s campaign has also drawn the support of Republicans — many of whom supported incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary against Paxton — including Bryan City Council member and Mayor pro tem James Edge, who has endorsed Talarico and spoke at the event.
“There was no way I was ever going to support Ken Paxton,” Edge told The Battalion after the event. “ … I’ve known [Talarico] to be a person of character and principle, someone that works in a bipartisan manner. He’s exactly the kind of guy we need, not just in Austin. We need him in Washington.”
The decision to endorse a Democrat has not come without controversy in local political circles, Edge said, though the council member also said that he’s not the only local Republican to cross the aisle in this election.
“The local Republican Party — the actual mechanism, the precinct chairs — actually voted to condemn me,” Edge said. “I actually received that yesterday, as a matter of fact. It’s going to be hanging on my office wall. … I can’t tell you how many people in the community that have traditionally voted Republican that have said ‘We pass on Ken Paxton. Ken Paxton is unacceptable.’”
Shult said folks across the aisle should respect the decision of Republicans like Edge who’ve been willing to cross party lines.
“I think that takes a lot of courage and shouldn’t be something that we take lightly,” Shult said. “For someone to vote against their own party that they still belong to, I think that shows how powerful James Talarico’s movement is, but also how weak of a candidate and weak of a human being Ken Paxton is.”
Despite some choosing to vote against their own party in favor of Talarico, not all Republicans are following suit. A small group of demonstrators attended the rally, sporting signs specifically against abortion.
“Even if James is correct about every single issue … this is the one issue,” demonstrator Miguel Andrade said. “I believe in human rights. … If I were to be correct, this is the biggest genocide hat is happening in human history.”
Andrade said that his main issue regarding Talarico is not him as a person, rather his reluctance to debate on the topic of abortion.
“James Talarico, he’s a nice guy … but he has always said … ‘It’s good that we have these conversations,’” Andrade said. “I agree with him; it is good that we have these conversations. The only problem is, he never has these conversations. … He has never debated the question of abortion … because he doesn’t want to change his mind and he’s not even willing to talk to people who think differently from him.”
Even as outliers, the trend of Republicans supporting Talarico is something that appeals to students like Hudson, who said that he had been following Talarico since before he declared his candidacy for senate.
“He’s very much more so about unity and about working together, no matter what party you identify with,” Hudson said. “And using that unity to bring what’s best for the people of Texas and for the State of Texas.”
Talarico, an ordained Presbyterian minister, compared his underdog race to the Biblical story of David and Goliath, as he urged voters to push him and other Democratic candidates over the line on Election Day.
“This is the last play of the last drive, A&M,” Talarico said. “This is the moment that we leave it all on the field. We are the underdogs. It’s David versus Goliath … and it’s time for us to start flipping over some tables.”
Your donation will support the student journalists of Texas A&M University – College Station. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs, in addition to paying freelance staffers for their work, travel costs for coverage and more!
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
